God’s Truth, or My Truth - Aaron Vienot
PIF27 - Lecture 3 - God’s Truth, or My Truth - Aaron Vienot
Who or what is your source?
1/11
Introduction: Why this topic?
• In present culture, there is widespread rejection of truth.
• Feelings & experiences used to measure reality. • “Live your truth”
• “Your feelings and desires reflect your identity”
• The God of truth is openly rejected by the culture.
• Directly or indirectly, Christians are influenced by these ideas. • Professing Christians increasingly reject God’s authority.
• Question: Are you subject to God’s truth, or to your own truth?
2/11
God’s truth: God is truth
• “The God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16) – Heb. “Elohim Amen” • Meaning: Faithfulness, Certainty, Reliability, Truth
• Connection: 2 Cor. 1:20
• “The Spirit of Truth”
• John 14:16-17 – “will be with you”
• John 15:26, 16:14-15 – “will testify of Me [the Son]” • John 16:12-13 – “will guide you into all truth”
•“I am the truth”
• John 1:14-17 – “full of grace and truth”
• John 14:6 – “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”
3/11
God’s truth: God’s Word is truth
• “Your words...
“prove true” (2 Sam. 22:31; Psa. 18:30; Pro. 30:5) – found to be true by
experience
“are true” (2 Sam. 7:28; Psalm 19:9; 119:142, 151, 160) – accepted as true by faith
“must be correctly discerned” (2 Tim. 2:15) • The Word made flesh: John 1:1-5
4/11
Man does not receive God’s truth
• What human source can give such assurance? •John 18:37 – the final offer
•John 18:38 – the response
5/11
Where does “my truth” lead? (1)
In organized religion (Judaism):
• Pharisees
• Legal spiritualists (religious pride)
• Had the “right” fundamentals...plus everything they added
• Sadducees
• Legal traditionalists (rational pride)
• Had the “right” fundamentals...minus everything they subtracted
• Herodians
• Political pragmatists (worldly pride)
• Presumably, no fundamentals...just go along to get along.
6/11
Where does “my truth” lead? (2)
The character of these three groups revealed:
• Acts 23:7 – principle divisions
• Mark 3:1-6 – the hardened heart
•Matthew 22:15-46 (also Mark 12, Luke 20) – all three groups at work • All were, in some degree, natural opponents
...although the Herodians are always associated with the Pharisees • All opposed the Lord
• All had no answer to His truth
7/11
Where does “my truth” lead? (3)
Modern parallels:
• Pharisees: any religious structure which...
• Seems to have fundamentals right, but adds rigid traditions and rules
which are made equal to Scripture.
• God’s truth is expanded into something impossible. Leads to hypocrisy.
• Sadducees: any religious structure which...
• May have some claim to a historic Christian view, but removes
dependence upon divine power and leading.
• God’s truth is selectively redefined and rejected. Leads to apostasy.
8/11
Where does “my truth” lead? (4)
Modern parallels:
• Herodians: the extending of religious tradition to...
• alliances with the world’s power systems in order to achieve goals.
• God’s truth has no real influence over methods. Leads to worldliness.
Points to ponder:
• Failed Christian groups often follow these patterns. Are they your patterns? Do you truly follow Christ?
• The Herodians (Matt. 22:16, Mark 3:6, 12:13) were cooperative with the Pharisees.
9/11
Where does “my truth” lead? (5)
In the Gentile world-systems (outside Judaism):
• Paul and the Athenians (Acts 17:16-33)
• The Stoic and Epicurean philosophers
• Two opposed philosophical views of life; what was their view of Paul’s gospel?
• The Gentile world-condition (Romans 1:18-32)
• Rejects truth regarding God’s existence and power (spiritual degeneracy) • Reject truth regarding God’s created order (moral degeneracy)
Point to ponder:
• Are you getting your truth from a world that can’t even sort basic facts about the created order after observation and study?
10/11
Conclusions
• 1 Cor. 1:17-31: Truth, beginning from the preaching of the gospel, is not discerned by human education, eloquence, wisdom...
• What was the truth of the gospel to Jews, who had religion?
• What was the truth of the gospel to Gentiles, who had science and
philosophy?
• Prov. 3:5-8: Truth does not come from depending upon your understanding of any situation or circumstance.
• 1 Tim. 2:4-5, John 8:31-36, 2 John 1:1-6: The power of truth comes from having a personal relationship with the source of Truth.
11/11
